Adam's Infinite Playlist
by Apple Pail
Summary: The Winchester boys are being haunted by a very literal ghost of their past, but this time the ghost isn't out for blood. Adam Milligan sets his sight on perfecting his new ghostly abilities, and tests them out by making a mockery of his half-brothers. From flickering the lights to communicating through the impala's radio.
1. Chapter 1

Dean flopped down on the uncomfortable motel bed, sighing. The springs didn't seem too happy about it either. They groaned under his weight. Sam was already hard at work putting up the mixed-up map of evidence, pages of dad's journal, newspaper clippings, and anything else that could possibly prove useful in their case. A couple missing persons, and now a corpse. It was strange to think this was "all in a day's work" for them, even if it was all they'd ever done.

Dean leaned forward and grabbed the remote off the table and clicking on the TV. The colors were horribly faded and the quality was crap, but Dean never really minded. He wasn't looking for HD, he was looking for a distraction.

Sam looked unamused. "You _could_ be helping..."

"I could be," Dean said flatly, staring blankly at the screen. "Hey, bring me a beer, would you?"

Sam rolled his eyes, but obeyed his older brother, suddenly desiring a drink too. He grabbed two bottles from the fridge and tossed one of them to Dean, who continued to stare at the television.

Dean was obviously_ very_ grateful.

The TV flickered to static, and then changed channels completely. Not just to the next channel or anything predictable, something completely random. Degrassi reruns, it looks like.

"What the hell..." Dean moaned half-heartedly. Fuck. Fuck TV, fuck technology, fuck fucking fuck. He changed it back, hoping it wouldn't happen again.

Lo and behold, it did. This time, a football game.

Dean rolled his eyes, deciding to just stick with the game for now.

Of course, as soon as he was comfortable, it switched again.

To god damn _Dora the Explorer_.

"Having fun?" Sam chuckles, obviously enjoying Dean's frustration.

Dean huffs bitterly, turns off the TV and stands up. "Fine, you win, I'll help."

They only got a minute's peace before the silence was broken. Static.

The TV was... back on. Some shitty reality show. Neither of them had ever heard of before.

The brothers exchange glances. That's not good.

The Winchesters jump into action, doing what they do best. EMFs are pulled out, salt is retrieved, journals are rifled through.

Dean's phone buzzes in his pocket. New message.

_Cool your jets, big bro._

"What the hell-" Obviously, his first thought was Sam, but that didn't make sense. Sam was right there. Sam's phone was on the counter on the other side of the room.

"What is it?" Sam asked, worried. He glanced over his brother's shoulder to get a look. "Big bro? Dean, that wasn't..."

Dean didn't respond, only continued to study the text. It made no sense.

"Must be a wrong number..." Dean said, trying to rationalize it. It was a long shot, but really,_ big bro_? This ghost must be seriously confused.

"Dean!" Sam yelped instinctively. There was no need to shout, Dean saw it too. When they exited the text message screen, Dean's phone background was not it's usual default blue. It was a picture. It didn't even stay on the screen for a full second, but they both saw it, clear as day.

"I think we found our ghost..." Dean said slowly. Ghosts usually don't reveal themselves so... _quickly_...

"I've seen that picture..." Sam said, darting back to his laptop.

"Where?"

Sam didn't respond, only furiously typed. In under a minute, he had found what he was looking for. He turned the screen so Dean could see.

A facebook page?

The profile picture was indeed the one they had seen on Dean's phone, but that wasn't what made their stomachs churn.

The face was familiar, the name was recognised.

_Adam Milligan_

"Big bro," The brothers said in unison.

"I knew I knew that face..." Dean said, shaking his head.

"But he's in The Cage!" Sam said, scrolling through the deceased boy's profile. It was full of sappy "I miss you" messages from friends and classmates. Some "Ellie Chase" left a lot of little hearts. Didn't Adam mention a girlfriend? "He _can't_ get out!"

Sam scrolled back up, only to find their half-brother decided to update his status.

_Well, I _am_ a Winchester._

Dean resisted the urge to put his fist through the screen. There was something about this that wasn't sitting right with him.

"So what?" he spat. "Hell has_ wi-fi_ now?!"

The lights flickered, and went out. The entire room was pitch black, and even Sam's _laptop_ had shut down.

"_Punkass __**BRAT**_!"


	2. Chapter 2

Sam phones Bobby, Dean packs up shop.

"He says he'll try, but he doesn't know if there's anything on people just... popping out of Hell," Sam says, huffing disappointedly. "But he did find a hunter to take the case."

"I don't believe it..." Dean says, dropping his flashlight in his hasty frustration. He cursed and picked it back up. The room was still dark. "Of all the friggin' ghosts..."

"Well, I mean, it's better than him being tortured in _Hell_, Dean...!"

"I don't trust it, Sam!" Dean shouted, hitting his shin on a table he _knew_ was against the wall a second ago. Adam was just fucking with them now... "He was in Hell! He can't just be BACK!"

"Stranger things have happened!"

"No, Sammy, _they haven't_!"

The younger Winchester was stumped. Dean had a point this time.

They packed up in total darkness and almost total silence. Their half-brother must be getting a kick out of watching them trip over whatever furniture he moved in the dark. The miniature motel room suddenly became a maze of bruised shins and anguished screaming. Eventually, the two managed to file out into the impala and get on the road. They weren't even down the block yet before the radio flickered to life.

"No, no, no, no, no, no, _NO_," Dean said, as some saccharine bubblegum pop song blasted through the speakers.

Sam turned off the radio, hoping against hope Adam would keep it off this time.

Of course not. This time, some alternative rock wannabes with unintelligible lyrics. Dean and Sam collided heads in an effort to turn it off as quickly as possible. While they were cursing and rubbing their heads, Avril Lavigne made an appearance on Adam's "Hits From The Pit" playlist.

_You say that I'm messing with your head, yeah yeah, yeah, yeah..._

"You've got some shitty taste in music, Milligan!" Dean growled, turning back to the road. While Sam fiddled with the radio, trying to make it stop. He kept shooting dirty looks at the backseat.

"I remember him being a bit-"

"Less of a_ bitch_!?"

Adam turned it up.

_All my life I've been good, but now,_

_I'm thinking, what the hell?_

_All I want is to mess around!_

_And I don't really about,_

_If you love me,_

_If you hate me,_

_You can't save me, baby, baby..._

"Why is he following us?!" Dean shrieked, pounding his fist on the steering wheel as the radio changed again. It was by Ellie Goulding, but neither brother knew the name of the artist. They didn't even know the song.

****_And so I tell myself that I'll be strong_

_And dreaming when they're gone_

_'Cause they're calling, calling, calling me home_

_Calling, calling, calling home_

He could trip them until they bled, but if he thought he was going to blow out Baby's speakers without some kind of punishment, he was very, very wrong.****

"_We_ are not your goddamn _home_, Adam!"

"We're the only family he has left, Dean..." Sam desperately tried to calm his brother, despite his own temper rising.

"Then why is he doing..." Dean angrily searched for words. "T-this?!"

The radio changed again, this time to... Taylor Swift? Disgusting. Dean was beginning to question if Adam was really related to their father.

_And I know you wouldn't have told nobody if I died, DIED, for you..._

_Died for you..._

Sam pulled out his cellphone. No texts from Adam, no strange backgrounds. Well, while it was out he might as well try it...

He opened the phone's camera and pointed it around the impala.

Just as he thought.

Adam was sitting in the backseat, the stupidest grin on his bratty little face. At the sight of Sam's camera, he clicked his tongue and winked, pointing two "pistols" at his half-brother.

"Oh, that's very cute, Adam," Sam growled. His family had some experience with Hell changing a person, but he'd never seen it take a pre-med student and turn it into a snot-nosed kid in dire need of a spanking.

"What is it?" Dean asked, glaring at the road ahead.

"He's in the backseat..." Sam said, watching Adam make a variety of silly faces and obscene gestures at him. "Yeah, that's real mature..."

"What's he doing?"

Sam turned off the camera. "Being a brat."

"Great... Just great..." Dean muttered. "We're roadtripping with the eight-year-old from the great beyond..."

Adam responded with a new song.

_I'll weigh you down, I'll watch you choke..._

The Winchesters exchanged glances. This was going to be an awfully long trip.

"Well, look on brightsi-" Sam was cut off by a small thud.

Dean chuckled, despite the situation. "Did he just...?"

"Kick... my..." Sam said slowly. "...Chair..."

Dean tried to laugh at his brother's misery, but he was quickly shut up. Adam was having way too much fun.

"Aren't you _nineteen_?"

The radio was turned up yet again.

_Say it ain't so, I will not go,_  
_Turn the lights off, carry me home..._

* * *

**Note:** The songs used, in order, are as follow:

What the Hell - Avril Lavigne  
Lights - Ellie Goulding  
Cold as You - Taylor Swift  
Nobody Puts Baby In The Corner - Fallout Boy  
All The Small Things - Blink 182


	3. Chapter 3

Bobby answered the door to two exhausted boys.

"Long trip?"

"You have no idea."

"What the_ hell_ did the boy do to you?"

"Learned how to work the radio."

Bobby asked for no more details, only leading the two inside with a flustered facial expression. He attempted to shut the door, only to have it shoved back at him by an invisible force.

"No!" Dean scolded the air behind them. "Outside!"

There was stillness for a moment. All three men just standing around and wondering if Adam had listened this time.

Suddenly Dean let out a yelp. His hands flew up to his face, covering his nose.

"What did he do?" Bobby asked, watching Dean massage his nose.

"He_ flicked_ me..." Dean said, looking ready to kill somebody.

Bobby and Sam exchanged looks, not sure what to do.

"Sammy, salt lines,_ now_," Dean barked, storming into the study. Bobby followed him, ready to list his findings to the older Winchester while Sam scampered off to retrieve the salt, holy water, and anything else that he thought would be helpful.

"So," Bobby said. "Adam's back?"

"Back? Oh yeah, he's_ back_ all right!" Dean shouted. "He's back and_ pissing me off_!"

"Well, _yelling_ about it ain't gonna fix too much," Bobby scolded. "So I suggest you get your act together and help me."

"_What_?!" Dean shouted angrily. "You haven't found_ anything_?!"

"Dean," Bobby said. "Adam might just be the first to pull himself out of the pit in some piece. I haven't found anything on anyone getting their asses skyward after something like that!"

"Impossible!"

"There's a first time for everything!"

Sam jogged into the room, toting every possible ghost-fighting tool he could grab.

Dean shot one last look at Bobby before beginning to barricade the room.

"I wish we could do this in the panic room..." Sam mutters.

"Just shut up, okay?"

After the entire ghost-proofing business was through, the three stood back and admired their work. Not a single crack for Adam to seek out and exploit.

"Now for a little-"

A small thud from behind them.

Sam, Bobby and Dean turn around. There's a book on the floor.

"Nu-uh..." Sam mutters.

"He is_ not_..." Dean says, seconds away from cursing.

They watch as a couple more books pick themselves up off the shelves and drop onto the floor with what must be very satisfying thumps.

Sam pulled out his phone, turned on the camera and pointed it at the corner. Adam grinned and dropped another heavy tome to the floor so he could cheerfully wave at his half-brothers.

They didn't lock him _out_ of the study.

They locked him_ in_.

"You two fix this," Dean growled, fed up. "I'm going on a walk..."

"A walk or... a _walk_?"

"Hell if I know!" Dean shouted, storming out.

* * *

As it turns out, Dean meant an actual walk. He wandered Sioux Falls until some of his rage subsided. He was never into the whole "walk it off" thing, but he could get used to this. It was quiet. No Adam to be found.

Dean stopped and sat down on a bench bordering a busy playground, tired from walking. He couldn't tell if he was excited or nervous about his half-brother's absence.

A horde of giggling children rushed past, playing keep away with a rubber ball. Dean scowled. Maybe this wasn't a good place to sit.

One of the kids stopped, but the other's didn't notice in their excitement.

"What?" Dean muttered as he watched a small shudder overtake the now wide-eyed child. That's never a good sign. The kid turned and jogged over to Dean before climbing up onto his lap and leaning in close to his face.

"Lookit what I learned how to do, big brother!" The child rang out, pushing his fluffy brown bangs out of his eyes and giving Dean a gap-toothed grin.

"..._Shit_."

"I found yooou!" Adam sang through the little boy's lips.

"I'd switch bodies if I were you, Adam," Dean growled.

"Hmmf, what're you gonna do?_ Spank_ me?" Adam said, smirking. "The kid's babysitter is right over there, Deanie Baby. I scream and you're jailed for_ pedophilia_."

Adam pointed to a young , blonde woman, mid-twenties maybe, who was sitting on a bench reading a thick book. She was obviously not the most attentive nanny, but Dean guessed that if she was, Adam would've chosen a different kid.

Dean rolled his eyes. "You are_ very_ lucky you did not grow up with dad..."

Adam glared up at him, obviously unamused.

"I didn't come here to discuss our oh-so-important_ family_."

"Family" was spat out like it was the most distasteful word Adam could think of.

"Then what are you here for?"

"Well," Adam pauses in thought. Oh, great. They got the ghost with absolutely no plan for his little revenge. "I suppose it _does_ have something to do with our oh-so-important family..."

Dean awaits what is surely about to be the most annoying words to ever come out of a child.

"Well, more importantly your _not_-so-important family," Adam says, smirking up at his brother. "That's _me_, in case you didn't notice."

"What the hell do you mean _not-so-important_?"

"Hell! Exactly!" Adam said, leaning in even closer, his nose less than an inch away from Dean's. "Where you_ left me to rot_!"

Dean felt his temper snap. "We _tried_ to save you!"

"_You gave up_!"

Dean was taken aback. Adam's face no longer held a mischievous grin, but had switched to a mask of complete rage. But there was something else there too.

Adam looked close to tears.

"Adam, we did not give up-"

"Once Sam got his soul back you acted like I_ never existe_d!"

"We've had a pretty full plate here, Adam! You think I haven't put_ any_ effort at _all_ into getting you out?!"

"I _KNOW_ YOU HAVEN'T!"

Just then, someone grabbed Adam around his waist and heaved him up into the air.

"_Jacob_!" The young woman Adam previously mentioned was the child's babysitter scolded loudly. Adam winced, eyes wide with fear. "What are you doing?!"

Dean stood up, smiling at the woman. "He wasn't causing any trouble, miss. Kids will be kids and all that, right?"

The babysitter was unamused, even looked a little... disturbed that _Dean_ was the man talking to her kid. She turned back to "Jacob" and continued to scold him angrily about not talking to strangers. Dean noticed that... Adam hadn't jumped out of the kid yet. He looked horrified and kept muttering under his breath, which was always met with a fresh round of shouting from the kid's nanny. Adam wasn't paying attention to the lecture at all, he was just wringing his hands and shooting terrified looks at Dean.

Dean smirked.

****"Lookit what I learned how to do" his_ ass_.

'Didn't even know how to jump out of this kid yet.

"Shit, shit, _shit_..." Adam muttered, looking himself over. "God damn_ iiit_..."

Dean started on his way, smirking at the babysitter's complete horror over Adam's "inappropriate language."

Hopefully that will slow that brat down for awhile.


	4. Chapter 4

The psychic promised to be there first thing tomorrow morning, but that felt way too long for the impatient Winchesters.

Sam and Dean passed the time playing poker and drinking. One good thing came out this whole Adam mess. They were actually settling in for once. Enjoying themselves.

It was a well deserved break.

The radio on the counter cut to static, interrupting the classic rock Dean insisted was "real music," whatever that meant.

"Damn thing..." Dean muttered, standing up to mess with the antennae on the decade-old device. The radio had been rather on and off about it's ability to retrieve signal. "We_ really_need to get Bobby a new radio."

When the static broke, Dean's music had disappeared, replaced with... something else...

_Help me out, yeah,_  
_You know you gotta help me out, yeah,_  
_Oh, don't you put me on the back burner,_  
_You know you gotta help me out, yeah_

_And when there's nowhere else to run,_  
_Is there room for one more son?_

"What's _this_ shit?!" Dean said, furiously trying to switch stations. The radio refused to obey. Dean slammed his fist down on the counter in frustration. "_Adam_! Get out here, _bitch_!"

Sam pulled out his phone, turning on the camera.

"Maybe it's just technical..." Sam muttered, his Adam hunt turning up negative.

Suddenly, Sam's chair unceremoniously dumped him onto the floor.

Sam slid across the floor, making a scrambled attempt to get to his feet. The camera was pointed towards the corner behind Sam's chair.

Adam smirked at them, his dead eyes shimmering with mischievous delight.

He waved, smirking.

"What's he doing?!" Dean barked, looking over his younger brother's shoulder.

"Didn't you say he was in a kid?"

Adam leaped into the air weightlessly. He rolled onto his back, resting his ankle on his knee and folding his arms behind his head. He looked very proud of himself.

"Well he _was_!"

The brothers glared silently at their spectral sibling. Adam looked... Different from what they remembered. He looked disheveled, even singed in some places. His ghostly figure seemed to emit a sort of smoke, and he had visible ash streaks on his clothes and skin. His eyes were sunken and he was missing the well-fed and well-kept look he had when they first met him. Hell certainly did a number on him.

Adam quickly became bored with the silence and amused himself by picking Sam's cards up off the table and looking through them. He shook his head and smirked before moving on to Dean's hand.

Sam cleared his throat. "A-Adam?"

Adam looked up, unimpressed.

"What are you _doing_?" Sam asked, trying very hard to sound friendly. "Here, I mean."

Adam dropped the cards back down on the table. He wandered around to their side of the table and sat down on a backwards chair, his arms resting on the back and legs out on each side. He gave them a nonchalant wave of his hand.

"Okay, quit with the silent treatment..." Dean said, growing very annoyed. Bobby entered the room, very confused.

"What's going on in here?"

Sam passed the phone to Bobby. Adam waved again, much less smugly this time. He looks like he honestly wouldn't care if Bobby was the queen of England.

"_Adam_?" Bobby said, somewhat disbelieving. It wasn't that he doubted the Winchesters were bring pestered by their half-brother, but he wasn't really expecting to see the boy so soon. "What in God's name happened to _you_?"

Adam looked very annoyed. He sighed, though no sound actually came out, and pointed at the radio. The channel switched again.

_I fell into a burning ring of fire_  
_I went down, down, down and the flames went higher_  
_And it burns, burns, burns, the ring of fire..._

"Well, I knew _that_!" Bobby protested.

"You act like we _pushed_you in, Adam!" Sam said, trying to talk over Johnny Cash. "I went in too! We can work this out! We can get you back in Heaven with your mom!"

Adan's face became a mask of white-hot rage.

The table flipped itself, flying across the room and smashing itself into the wall. The boys barely got out the way in time.

The radio went to loud static before settling on a Taylor Swift song.

_We are never, ever, ever getting back together!_  
_We are never, ever, ever getting back together!_  
_You go talk? to your friends talk,_  
_To my friends, talk to me,_  
_But we are never, ever, ever, ever getting back together!_

"We can do this _without_the attitude, boy," Bobby said threateningly. Adam responded by mockingly imitating Bobby with a hand puppet and making a silly face.

Sam's fists clenched and unclenched agitatedly and Dean was cracking his knuckles as if he really could hit a ghost. A silent pact was made to make Adam feel pain any way possible. No one insults Bobby Singer in front of them.

Adam jumped up out of his chair, drifting though the air with his arms crossed over his chest.

"Let's _go_, boys," Bobby said, grabbing each of them by their shirts. They nodded and followed him out. "Leave Adam to pout on his own."

Adam watched them go bitterly.

"Well, he's certainly your brother," Bobby said, once they were back in the safety of the previously ghost-proofed study.

"We _knew_that," Sam said, leaning back against the doorframe.

Bobby gave him a look. "I know, _idjit_. I was talking about his attitude."

"What about it?" Dean asked.

"You were _both_ like that," Bobby said, rolling his eyes. "For soldiers, you were _needy_ little brats. But you _never_ liked to admit it. No, no, it'd hurt your little six year old _prides_ too much. You'd just sit there and _steam_until you got so upset no one was paying attention that you'd throw a tantrum about it."

The Winchesters were obviously upset over Bobby's analogy. Funny, since he had strategically avoided saying they were _still_like that.

"So what?" Sam asked, shrugging. "Adam's tantruming?"

"You told me he said he knew you two haven't been making his rescue your top priority, yeah?"

"We've had a lot to do, Bobby!" Dean shouted defensively.

"Don't you think I _know _that?!" Bobby barked in response. "What I'm saying is he must've been steaming for quite a while if _he_ knows that."

The room falls into silence.

"He just showed up!" Dean said, trying to make sense of Bobby's suggestion.

"He's just now getting the hang of possessing! How long do you think he's been learning?! How long did it take him to figure out how to flip tables and flicker lights?!"

More silence.

Neither brother liked the idea of having had a ghost in the backseat for God knows how long without ever noticing.

"_Exactly_," Bobby huffed. "Now I suggest you two go get some bedrolls. Unless you feel like waking up with shaving cream all over your faces."

* * *

**Note: **Songs used, in order, are as follow:

One More Son - The Killers  
The Ring Of Fire - Johnny Cash  
We Are Never, Ever, Ever Getting Back Together - Taylor Swift


	5. Chapter 5

Sam sat up and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. The cots he, Dean, and Bobby were laying on wasn't the most comfortable thing in the world, but it was better than sleeping where Adam could get them. As Dean had said, he was relatively harmless besides pranks, but that was yesterday. None of them knew exactly how fast ghosts learned or how long it'd take before Adam could do real damage.

After all, he already flipped the table.

If he could do that, what's stopping him from put knives in their backs?

Sam wearily got to his feet and starting attempting to shake his older brother awake. "Dean... Dean, get up..."

Dean moaned sleepily and rolled over.

Sam tried a new tactic. "Dean, Adam keyed your car..."

"I'm not an idiot, Sam..."

"Dude, you have to get up," Sam said, shaking his brother's shoulder. "We have a psychic coming."

"Damn..." Dean muttered, sitting up and stretching. "I forgot about that..."

"So," Sam asked. "Who wants to wake Bobby up?"

"Not me."

"You act like I'm so eager."

"Maybe if we leave him be, he'll wake up on his own," Dean said, walking over towards the hallway. He stepped over the saltline, and immediately shrieked.

"_Dean_!" Sam cried, scampering to his brother's aid. Dean's face was hidden in his hands, tears rolling down his face and mucus dripping everywhere.

"W-w-what is h-_happening_?!"

Sam examined his brother, looking for the cause of Dean's misery.

"Pepper?" Sam asked, noticing the black powder that covered Dean's head, neck and shoulders. Sam scowled. "Yeah, yeah, I get it. Cute _joke_, Adam."

"Joke?!" Dean said as his body continued to try to flush the spice out of it's system. Sam hoped Adam found this funny, because they sure didn't.

"Dude, we spent a whole night keeping him out with salt," Sam explained, rolling his eyes. "So his revenge is _pepper_."

"That," Dean sputtered. "Has to be the shittest joke I've ever heard!"

"I think Adam got a kick out of it..."

"Trust me," Dean threatened loudly. "He'll get more than a kick when I get my hands on him!"

Sam sighed. "Alright, alright. Let's just go get ready."

As soon as Sam stepped out the salt circle, he too was pepper-bombed.

* * *

Adam apparently had this morning planned out and ready for them.

Sinks sprayed their faces, food flew off tables, rugs were pulled out from under them, radios went haywire, the basement door locked itself and Sam had to shimmy out a small window, the impala's trunk lid was unceremoniously dropped on Dean's head, and Bobby was almost decapitated by a hubcap Adam had tossed as if it was just a frisbee.

By the time the psychic got there, they were in worse condition then they started in.

"Boys," Bobby said, gesturing to a small, smiling woman. "I'd like you to meet Ms. Kennedy."

"Oh, please, Bobby!" She said in a sing-song voice. She was very... Pixie-like. Small, pointed, and so far, she had not stopped smirking. "Call me Drew. You two must be Sam and Dean."

"Actually-"

"I'm Dean," The older brother said, correcting her mistake. Drew had gestured to them when she addressed them by name, and incorrectly so. He couldn't help that his little brother was bigger than he was...

Pleasantries were exchanged, then interrupted by the kitchen radio blaring Adam's trademark communication attempt.

"Oh,_ can it_, would you?" Bobby said, rolling his eyes and leading the group into the kitchen.

Drew smiled excitedly, she scampered up to the middle of the room, staring intently at the empty air. "Oh, hello there! You must be Adam!"

"Uh, that's him alright," Dean growled, deciding that this woman must see the boy even if he couldn't. He learned not to question psychics. "Our little asshole."

The radio cut to angry static before settling.

_Hate is a strong word,_

_But I really, really, really don't like you!_

"_Dean_!" Drew scolded. "Adam was being very well behaved, there's no need to be so rude!"

Dean stared, confused. Adam? _Polite_?

"Kissass..." The Winchesters muttered in unison, exchanging looks.

A plate flew out of the sink and smashed into the wall behind their heads.

The psychic looked disapproving of the entire situation.

* * *

**Notes: **Firstly, I want to thank you guys for all the positive feedback. You're all great, keep on keepin' on! Secondly, I want to apologize for accidental not-canon character drop. I never intended for any non-canon characters to show up, I just needed an NPC, okay? She won't be around long. She'll leave in the next chapter. On the subject of apologies, sorry for the short chapter. There will be a new one up soon and it will hopefully be a bit longer.

Only song used:  
Hate - Plain White T's


	6. Chapter 6

Dean was never fond of seances, and especially not ones that involved bratty half-brothers who spend their entire time kissing up to the psychic. Adam probably thinks she can actually physically wound him or something.

The eldest Winchester just knew his spectral sibling was cackling over how silly they looked, holding hands around a card table in a dimly lit room as Drew recited chants in an attempt to summon a ghost who was already sitting in the room.

Suddenly, the room's air filled with static. This time, it wasn't the radio. It was like ringing in their ears. White-noise from no concernable location, except inside their ears. Made sense that a spirit who communicated through static should appear as it too.

It was like they were getting poor reception. Adam's voice kept trying to break the static, but you could never tell what he was saying.

As if from a shitty television, the half-brother flickered into view in a corner of the room. He still looked singed, dirty, an all around dead, but now they could see him without a camera phone.

"...Adam?" Dean asked, watching the ghostly form marvel at it's own visibility. HE stared down at his transparent hands, opening and closing his fists with wide, wondering eyes. At last, Adam looked up.

"Hey, Losechesters," He said smirking at his own joke.

"Cute," Sam said before his brother could counter. He had never had to be the middle-child-mediator before.

"I try," Adam shrugged, wandering over to the shelf and picking up a book. He smirked. "So I've gone full specter, then?"

"Hardly," Bobby growled, rolling his eyes. "It's a seance. We're summoning you."

"Summoning?" Adam asked, unimpressed. "Lemme guess. This is interrogation, isn't it? What is it with you two over-controlling bastards and keeping me on lockdown?"

The Winchesters exchange ready-to-kill glares.

"Look, Adam," Sam said, trying to keep his temper in check. "We just wanna know how you got here."

"Accidents happen." Adam shrugged.

Dean's head met the table. "We're being serious."

"I'm not."

Dean looked back up his phantasmal brother. "Adam, you're supposed to be in Hell."

"I decided I like it here better."

This was going to be so much fun.

"...You don't just get to decide that," Sam said, picking up his brother's slack. "You can't just leave! You don't just escape the cage! Something had to have broken you out!"

"Yeah," Adam growled. "I did."

"You couldn't have-"

"I had a little help, obviously," The youngest sibling rolled his ghostly eyes. "I hitched a ride."

"...On what?" Dean asked, a bad feeling settling in his gut. He could tell he wouldn't like this answer.

Adam drifted into the air, floating weightlessly. He leaned back, relaxing in mid-air with his arms folded behind his head. "Big brother."

Sam and Dean exchanged looks. "...What?"

Adam waved his hand nonchalantly towards Sam. "God helps those who help themselves, right?"

"How is that even-?!" Sam was at a lost for words. "That can't just..."

"Happen?" Adam asked, rolling onto his stomach. "Well, guess what, Goliath, it did."

The room fell into silence, Sam, Bobby and Dean were at a lost for words. Adam hopped on Sam's ride home? He'd been there that long? Why didn't they know sooner?

Adam rolled his eyes. "Look at me and look at Sam. If he came out as a soulless body, what did I come out as?"

You could hear a pin drop.

"You," Dean growled, rising to his feet without breaking the circle of hands. "Are the reason Sam's soul was trapped in Hell?"

"Well, you weren't gonna rescue me," Adam sassed, flipping over so he was floating right side up again. "I had to do something. And if you haven't noticed, Sam's just fine now. My body is still down there!"

Sam squeezed his brother's hand, trying to pull him back into his chair. Dean refused, glaring into Adam's dead eyes.

A scowl spread across the wayward soul's lips. "Do what you want, but I'm here to stay. You two got your happy hunter ending while everything I've worked for in nineteen years has a nice 'deceased' stamp on it. You can be angry at me for locking Sam's soul in the pit for a little bit longer all you want, but I've still got the short stick."

"So you're handling this by throwing hubcaps!?" Dean spat.

"It's harder than it looks!"

"Are you trying to kill us?!"

"I thought you'd be a bit more excited to know I wasn't burning in a pit!"

"Not if you try to decapitate us!"

The poltergeist huffed, setting his feet back down on the ground only to turn on his heels and face away from them. "Break the stupid summoning thing. I don't want to talk."

"No, Adam," Bobby said. "Like you said, you're on lockdown, and no angels are gonna break you out this time."

"Fine," Adam spat. "Ask away all you want. I'm not taking anymore callers."

"Adam-" Sam started. A heavy tome effortlessly hurled itself off one of the shelves and nearly slammed into the boy's face. It landed across the room with a crack that'd make any bookworm squirm. Sam straightened up, his mouth twitching and his temper beginning to show. He took a deep breath. "Adam, we want to know exactly what happened."

"I told you. I rode your ass up like a luck dragon."

"...A what?" The Winchesters asked in unison.

Adam turned around, an "are you kidding" look plastered on his face. When he realized they weren't kidding, his eyebrows went up in what might have been surprised, but really he just looked impressed at their ignorance.

"...Nevermind..."

* * *

**Notes: **Sorry for lack of updates. I've been working on some other Adam stories and AUs, but now I'll be putting more effort into this one, seeing as it's getting a LOT more positive attention the I was thinking it was going to get. Thank you all!

Also, if you're in the Winchester's shoes of not understanding Adam's reference, enhance your life by reading or watching The Neverending Story. Luck dragons, man. Luck dragons.


	7. Chapter 7

The rest of the seance followed in a similar way. Adam chucked books and trinkets when he got mad and was generally unhelpful. All he would admit to is he had gotten himself out of the cage, though whether not it was true was the real question.

Adam was a nineteen year old eagle scout, how did he escape the inescapable pit that held goddamn Lucifer?

There had to be a trick to this.

**Dean paced the kitchen, still agitated from trying to communicate with the stubborn brat of a pre-med student. If he hadn't put a rock-salt shotgun shell in the boy's face, Adam would probably be tormenting him right now. Dean wasn't playing games anymore. Adam had kept Sam's soul in Hell for his own personal gain, and he was going to pay for it.**

"Dean," Sam said, appearing in the doorframe. "I'm not that upset about it."

"Sam, he's the reason your soul was locked in a box with the friggin' devil. I'm not just gonna sit by and pretend it didn't happen! We don't play that way!"

"Well, is it better for him to have rotted there alone until we figured out how to break him out?"

Dean didn't answer. He simply went over to the fridge and pulled out a beer as if he hadn't heard Sam at all.

Sam sighed, leaned back against the door frame and gave his older brother a look. "Really, Dean? You would have rather had him burning-"

"We're not talking about this."

Sam rolled his eyes. "Fine. What now?"

"We figure out what the hell's keeping the kid here and shoot his sorry ass back up to heaven." Dean grumbled, staring at the bottle in his hands. "He can't just be out and about, something's anchoring him here, right?"

"Yeah..."

Dean looked up. "Don't tell me you wanna keep him around!"

"I don't!" Sam said. "I know what happens to ghosts, Dean, it's just..."

"It's just what?"

"He's our brother, Dean," Sam said at last. "Maybe we should wait. At least look to see if there's a way to save him? I mean, he didn't really die this time. His body is just in the pit..."

"Not gonna happen," Dean said. "We don't have a wall to put in his mind, Sam. He's good as gone."

They brother sat in silence for a long time, contemplating the situation. Neither was really sure what to do. There were too many unanswered questions. If they did manage to get his body back, would he really just fall down brain-dead? That was Adam's soul wandering around, so why wasn't it some drooling loon? What did his body have to do with anything?

The Winchesters knew more than most people, but they had never even begun to scratch the surface on the mysteries of the world.

"We're leaving tomorrow morning," Dean said, having come to some decision without his brother's consent.

"What?" Sam asked. "Why? Where to? What's the hurry?"

"Clock's ticking. You know how ghosts are if you let them sit there and steam. We have to get Adam back to heaven before he goes berserk."

"You didn't tell me where we're going!"

"To find some answers," Dean grumbled. "There's nothing here Adam could be attached too, so we've gotta find what's grounding him."

"What? Dean, ghosts can't be too far away from whatever's grounding them, you know that! And it's not like we'd ever be able to track down everything he ever owned! It's take years!"

"Then what do you suggest!?"

"How drunk are you!?"

Their yelling was interrupted by the sound of feathers. They turned to the newly arrived angel.

"What's the problem?" Castiel asked simply.

"Where've you been, Cas?" Dean asked bitterly, taking another sip of his beer.

"Busy. What's the problem?" Castiel asked again, looking around as if he could find the answer somewhere in the setting.

"Do you remember Adam?" Sam asked.

"The vessel? Yes, why?"

"Why?" Dean said, rolling his eyes. "Maybe because he's gone _batshit insane_!"

"What do you mean?"

****Dean furiously explained the situation to a pacing Castiel. Sam chimed in occasionally with forgotten facts, or simply to calm his older brother down. Castiel never said a word.


	8. Chapter 8

Castiel had left, promising he'd return with answers later and Dean had begrudgingly gone to sleep upstairs. That left Sam alone in the kitchen, waiting.

"...Adam?" He asked the silence, hoping maybe there'd be an answer that wasn't violent. "Are you there...?"

Timid static quietly emitted from the radio on the counter.

Sam smirked. "Don't like rocksalt much, do you?"

The static cut out instantly.

"Come on out, Adam. Dean's not here. I wanna talk."

The lights flickered.

"There you are." Sam smiled. He knew why Dean was mad. He understood, but there was no reason to get angry. Adam wasn't going to respond well to that. "Now, Adam, I want to explain a couple things to you. Peacefully. Calmly. You can use the radio to talk if you want."

Adam turned the lights out completely.

"Don't get upset!" Sam said, not moving from his seat. "I just want you to know what's happening to you."

No response.

"Aren't you even a _little_ bit curious...?"

The lights flickered back to life.

"See? Friendly conversation."

Light static from the radio. Adam was willing to talk.

"Adam, I'm going to ask you a couple questions, if you want you can flicker the lights once for yes-"

"That will not be necessary."

Sam whipped around, nearly falling out of his chair. Adam stood, "full specter" as he had called it, behind him.

"Why didn't you do that sooner?" Sam smiled, genuinely happy to see his brother acting peaceful.

"This shit is hard, Sam!" Adam said defensively. "I'd like to see you get it right on the first try!"

Even as he said that, Sam could see the figure flickering, ever so slightly, like a lightbulb that wasn't quite screwed in properly.

Sam didn't have any time to waste, apparently.

"Adam, how are you here?"

Adam looked frustrated. "I told you, I hitched a ride."

"That's _impossible_, Adam," Sam said, keeping his voice level. "We're just worried about you-"

"You don't need to 'worry about me,'" Adam rolled his eyes. "I'm not _seven_, I can handle myself."

"We just want to make sure-"

"I'm sure," Adam said, as if to say "and that's final." "I'm fucking fine and dandy floating around out here and making you two dumbasses cringe, so if you could just stop shooting me, I think I'll be_ fine_, thank you."

****Sam opened his mouth to say something, but suddenly the house was alive with movement. Adam gave Sam a fearful look before static-ing out of sight like poor TV reception.

"Adam-" Sam said to his vanishing brother. Too late. He was gone.

Dean appeared in the doorway, breathless.

"Omens," He panted.

"_Demons_?" Sam said, dumbfounded, but already to his feet. They hadn't had to deal with crap like this in awhile.

Dean shook his head.

"Angels."

And with that one word, the younger Winchester leapt into action. Bobby was pinpointing the location of the cause of the sudden spark divine miracles, while Dean and Sam were packing up to hit the road. Every few minutes, Sam could his spectral sibling watching from the dark corners, a pair of dead eyes monitoring every movement.

The impala was loaded up and the two brothers were

"Here's hoping whatever's keeping Adam here got left at the house, right?" Dean said, smirking and revving up the engine. "Maybe this drive will be a bit more peaceful."

Sam would like to share in his brother's hope, but with their luck, Sam was very doubtful. Dean turned on the radio, and instead of ghostly static and bad music, their normal station played.

They traveled in happy silence, except for the music playing, for maybe about twenty minutes.

At last, the baby of the family made his presence known.

"Look what I can do!" Adam's voice singsonged, interrupting the music. Adam's voice wasn't from the backseat, or from the mouth of a possessed brother. It was from the speakers. Adam wasn't just haunting the backseat.

Adam was inside the impala.

"No!" Dean shouted, staring in horror at the car radio. If Adam was alive he probably wouldn't even be allowed to look at the impala, let alone get behind the wheel. "Adam, what the hell is wrong with you! Get out of the car!"

This was pushing it and Adam knew it.

That was the only reason he was even doing it.

"No, really! Look!" Adam said. Suddenly, the impala swerved, causing Sam to slam his head into the passenger side window full-force and threatening to throw the car off the road. Just as quickly as it was lost, control was regained, Dean breathing a sigh of relief.

"Adam!" Dean said threateningly, still visibly shaken by the impala's near-death experience.

"Okay, okay, I'm just kidding. I wouldn't crash this baby!" Adam said cheekily, his voice scratchy through the speakers. "Getting behind the wheel of this thing is a rare opportunity! Where else am I gonna find a couple ghosthunting dickbags with a ride this nice?"

Dean looked ready to jump out of the car.


	9. Chapter 9

Adam was not a fun carmate. Siblings never were.

For two hours, Adam left the windshield wipers running, despite the perfectly clear weather, for four hours, Adam played nothing but Radio Disney, and at every possible opportunity, Adam slammed on the horn just to make his older brothers look like dicks.

Three times now, Adam had turned the engine light on for no good reason, five times now, he turned off the headlights while on the dark country roads, eight times now, he's made them think they were out of gas and stranded, and a whopping eleven times now, he randomly hit the breaks.

"...Are we there yet?" Adam asked for the hundredth time. Adam had been, without fail, asking that same fucking question every five minutes, like clockwork. Sam groaned loudly. He wished they could go back to the wonderful, peaceful time when all Adam could do was play whatever he wanted through the radio.

"For the love of God, Adam!" Dean yelled, a whole night of sleepless driving finally catching up to him. Neither Winchester had slept at all. Their ghost brother wouldn't let them. "If you ask that one more time we're getting out of the car and taking a friggin' BUS."'

"Just asking."

Silence.

"...But really, are we there yet? You didn't answer."

Dean let out a warcry, and slammed his fist down on the dashboard.

"...No? Okay. I'll ask later."

More silence.

Sam gives his suicidal brother a look. "Two hours to go."

"Don't remind me."

Again, silence. Their five minutes were ticking away.

"...Are we there yet?"

"Adam, do you have anything better to do?!" Dean screamed.

"...We could play I Spy," Adam said simply. A scratchy sigh comes through the speakers. "Honestly, Dean, I'm dead. What do you think I have to do all day?

Dean rolled his eyes. He did not want any part of Adam's pity party.

"Besides, you're the one who's all about family. This is what it's like to have a younger sibling. Get used to it." Adam said. "Also, I rolled my eyes back at you. But you couldn't tell because I'm dead."

"I told you, Adam," Sam sighed. "You're not dead."

"I don't know," Adam said. "I feel pretty spectral."

"That's because you left your body in Hell!"

"That's cause you left me in Hell!"

"We were gonna get you out! We were working on it!"

"Oh yeah, I'm sure."

Dean's only response was an eyeroll.

Adam stayed quiet for a little bit, but the anger in the air was still present and suffocating.

"Where are we even going?" The youngest Winchester asked, earning a groan from his half-brothers.

"Adam, you like games, right? Let's play a game."

"What...?"

"The Quiet Game," Sam explained. "Whoever stays quiet the longest, wins."

A long pause. Maybe Adam was winning this game after all.

Suddenly, the impala threw itself into the next lane, the Winchester brothers almost screaming as the car jerked to the side.

"Nah, I like this game better," Adam chuckled. "So, where are we going?"

* * *

Two hours passed slowly, the word Stull hanging in the air despite Adam's now half-hearted attempts to distract everyone from it by bugging his brothers. Radio Disney was playing for most of it.

No one liked the idea of returning to The Chosen Field's hometown, but if the omens were there, they had to.

Angels.

Big signs, too.

This had to be huge.

As they approached their destination, rain began to fall in big, heavy drops. Adam responded by occasionally turning off the windshield wipers.

* * *

**Author's Note: **So, so, sorry for keeping you all waiting. I've been busy... .


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